Conditioning system for nutritional substances

ABSTRACT

Disclosed herein is a conditioning system for nutritional substances. The conditioning system obtains information regarding the nutritional substance to be conditioned, the desired conditioning, and the desired properties, including nutritional content, of the conditioned nutritional substance, and dynamically controls the conditioning in response to this information optimize the organoleptic properties of the conditioned nutritional substance, while minimizing any detrimental changes to the nutritional content.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS OR PRIORITY CLAIM

This application claims benefit under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) of U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/624,745, filed Apr. 16, 2012;U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/624,765, filed Apr. 16,2012; and U.S. Provisional Patent Application, 61/624,788, filed Apr.16, 2012, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference intheir entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present inventions relate to condition systems for preparation ofnutritional substances using information regarding source, preservationand current information, prior transformation information, consumerpreference information, including recipe information to control one ormore conditioning systems.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Nutritional substances are traditionally grown (plants), raised(animals) or synthesized (synthetic compounds). Additionally,nutritional substances can be found in a wild, non-cultivated form,which can be caught or collected. While the collectors and creators ofnutritional substances generally obtain and/or generate informationabout the source, history, caloric content and/or nutritional content oftheir products, they generally do not pass such information along to theusers of their products. One reason is the nutritional substanceindustries have tended to act like “silo” industries. Each group in thefood and beverage industry: growers, packagers, processors,distributors, retailers, and preparers work separately, and eithershares no information, or very little information, between themselves.There is generally no consumer access to, and little traceability of,information regarding the creation and/or origin, preservation,processing, preparation, or consumption of nutritional substances. Itwould be desirable for such information be available to the consumers ofnutritional substances, as well as all participants in the food andbeverage industry—the nutritional substance supply system.

While the nutritional substance supply system has endeavored over thelast 50 years to increase the caloric content of nutritional substancesproduced (which has help reduce starvation in developing countries, buthas led to obesity problems in developed countries), maintaining, orincreasing, the nutritional content of nutritional substances has been alower priority. Caloric content refers to the energy in nutritionalsubstances, commonly measured in calories. The caloric content could berepresented as sugars and/or carbohydrates in the nutritionalsubstances. The nutritional content of foods and beverages, as usedherein, refers to the non-caloric content of these nutritionalsubstances which are beneficial to the organisms which consume thesenutritional substances. For example, the nutritional content of anutritional substance could include vitamins, minerals, proteins, andother non-caloric components which are necessary, or at leastbeneficial, to the organism consuming the nutritional substances.

While there has recently been greater attention by consumerorganizations, health organizations and the public to the nutritionalcontent of foods and beverages, the food and beverage industry has beenslow in responding to this attention. One reason for this may be thatsince the food and beverage industry operates as silos of those whocreate nutritional substances, those who preserve and transportnutritional substances, those who transform nutritional substances, andthose who finally prepare the nutritional substances for consumption bythe consumer, there has been no coordination of management ofnutritional content. While each of these silo industries may be able tomaintain or increase the nutritional content of the foods and beveragesthey handle, each silo industry has only limited information and controlof the nutritional substances they receive, and the nutritionalsubstances they pass along.

As consumers better understand their need for nutritional substanceswith higher nutritional content, they will start demanding that the foodand beverage industry offer products which include higher nutritionalcontent, and/or at least information regarding nutritional content ofsuch products. In fact, consumers are already willing to pay higherprices for higher nutritional content. This can be seen at high-endgrocery stores which offer organic, minimally processed, fresh,non-adulterated nutritional substances. Further, as societies andgovernments seek to improve their constituents' health and lowerhealthcare costs, incentives and/or mandates will be given to the foodand beverage industry to track, maintain, and/or increase thenutritional content of nutritional substances they handle. There will bea need, not only within each food and beverage industry silo to maintainor improve the nutritional content of their products, but anindustry-wide solution to allow the management of nutritional contentacross the entire cycle from creation to consumption. In order to managethe nutritional content of nutritional substances across the entirecycle from creation to consumption, the nutritional substance industrywill need to identify, track, measure, estimate, preserve, transform,condition, and record nutritional content for nutritional substances. Ofparticular importance is the measurement, estimation, and tracking ofchanges to the nutritional content of a nutritional substance fromcreation to consumption. This information could be used, not only by theconsumer in selecting particular nutritional substances to consume, butcould be used by the other food and beverage industry silos, includingcreation, preservation, transformation, and conditioning, to makedecisions on how to create, handle and process nutritional substances.Additionally, those who sell nutritional substances to consumers, suchas restaurants and grocery stores, could market and price nutritionalsubstances with higher nutritional content, or minimally degradednutritional content.

For example, the grower of sweet corn generally only provides basicinformation as the variety and grade of its corn to the packager, whopreserves and ships the corn to a producer for use in a ready-to-eatdinner. The packager may only tell the producer that the corn has beenfrozen as loose kernels of sweet corn. The producer may only provide theconsumer with rudimentary instructions how to cook or reheat theready-to-eat dinner in a microwave oven, toaster oven or conventionaloven, and only tell the consumer that the dinner contains whole kernelcorn among the various items in the dinner. Finally, the consumer of thedinner will likely keep her opinions on the quality of the dinner toherself, unless it was an especially bad experience, where she mightcontact the producer's customer support program to complain. Veryminimal, or no, information on the nutritional content of theready-to-eat dinner is passed along to the consumer. The consumer knowsessentially nothing about changes (generally degradation) to thenutritional content of the sweet corn from creation, processing,packaging, cooking, preservation, preparation by consumer, and finallyconsumption by the consumer.

Consumers' needs are changing as consumers are demanding healthierfoods, such as “organic foods.” Customers are also asking for moreinformation about the nutritional substances they consume, such asspecific characteristics' relating not only to nutritional content, butto allergens or digestive intolerances. For example, nutritionalsubstances which contain lactose, gluten, nuts, dyes, etc. need to beavoided by certain consumers. However, the producer of the ready-to-eatdinner, in the prior example, has very little information to share otherthan possibly the source of the elements of the ready-to-eat dinner andits processing steps in preparing the dinner. Generally, the producer ofthe ready-to-eat dinner does not know the nutritional content andorganoleptic state of the product after it has been reheated or cookedby the consumer. For example, the consumer may want to know whatproportion of organoleptic properties and/or nutritional content thecorn in the ready-to-eat dinner remain after cooking or reheating, andthe change in nutritional content (usually a degradation). There is aneed to preserve, measure, estimate, store and/or transmit suchnutritional content information throughout the nutritional substancesupply system.

The caloric and nutritional content information for a prepared food thatis provided to the consumer is often minimal. For example, when sugar islisted in the ingredient list, the consumer generally does receive anyinformation about the source of the sugar, which can come from a varietyof plants, such as sugarcane, beets, or corn, which will affect itsnutritional content. Conversely, some nutritional information that isprovided to consumers is so detailed, the consumer can do little withit. For example, this of ingredients is from a nutritional label on aconsumer product: Vitamins—A 355 IU 7%, E 0.8 mg 4%, K 0.5 mcg, 1%,Thiamin 0.6 mg 43%, Riboflavin 0.3 mg 20%, Niacin 6.0 mg 30%, B6 1.0 mg52%, Foliate 31.5 mcg 8%, Pantothenic 7%; Minerals Calcium 11.6 1%, Iron4.5 mg 25%, 211 mg 53%, Phosphorus 349 mg 35%, Potassium 476 mg 14%,Sodium 58.1 mg 2%, Zinc 3.7 mg 24%, Copper 0.5 mg 26%, Manganese 0.8 mg40%, Selenium 25.7 mcg 37%; Carbohydrate 123 g, Dietary fiber 12.1 g,Saturated fat 7.9 g, Monosaturated Fat 2, 1 g, Polysaturated Fat 3.6 g,Omega 3 fatty acids 108 g, Omega 6 fatty acids 3481, Ash 2.0 g and Water17.2 g. (%=Daily Value). There is a need to provide information aboutnutritional substances in a meaningful manner. Such information needs tobe presented in a manner that meets the specific needs of a particularconsumer. For example, consumers with a medical condition, such asdiabetes, would want to track specific information regarding sugar andnutrients in the foods and beverages they consume.

If fact, each silo in the food and beverage industry already creates andtracks some information, including caloric and nutritional information,about their product internally. For example, the framer who grew thecorn knows the variety of the seed, condition of the soil, the source ofthe water, the fertilizers and pesticides used, and can measure thecaloric and nutritional content at creation. The packager of the cornknows when it was picked, how it was transported to the packaging plant,how the corn was preserved and packaged before being sent to theready-to-eat dinner producer, when it was delivered to the producer, andwhat degradation to caloric and nutritional content has occurred. Theproducer knows the source of each element of the ready-to-eat dinner,how it was processed, including the recipe followed, and how it waspreserved and packaged for the consumer. Not only does such a producerknow what degradation to caloric and nutritional occurred, the producercan modify its processing and post-processing preservation to minimallyaffect nutritional content. The preparation of the nutritional substancefor consumption can also degrade the nutritional content of nutritionalsubstances. Finally, the consumer knows how she prepared the dinner,what condiments were added, and whether she did or did not enjoy it.

If there was a mechanism to share this information, the quality of thenutritional substances, including caloric and nutritional content, couldbe preserved and improved. Consumers could be better informed aboutnutritional substances they select and consume, including the state ofthe nutritional substance throughout its lifecycle from creation toconsumption. The efficiency and cost effectiveness of nutritionalsubstances could also be improved. Feedback within the entire chain fromcreator to consumer could provide a closed-loop system that couldimprove quality (taste, appearance, and caloric and nutritionalcontent), efficiency, value and profit. For example, in the milk supplychain, at least 10% of the milk produced is wasted due to safety marginsincluded in product expiration dates. The use of more accurate trackinginformation, measured quality (including nutritional content)information, and historical environmental information couldsubstantially reduce such waste. Collecting, preserving, measuringand/or tracking information about a nutritional substance in thenutritional substance supply system, would allow needed accountability.There would be nothing to hide.

As consumers are demanding more information about what they consume,they are asking for products that have higher nutritional content andmore closely match good nutritional requirements, and would likenutritional products to actually meet their specific nutritionalrequirements. While grocery stores, restaurants, and all those whoprocess and sell food and beverages may obtain some information fromcurrent nutritional substance tracking systems, such as labels, thesecurrent systems can provide only limited information.

Consumers of nutritional substances are sometimes given options on howto prepare nutritional substances they have obtained from the store,such as different cooking devices: microwave ovens, conventional ovens,etc., and/or limited taste preferences such as crunchy or soft. However,if the consumer desires to prepare a specific recipe, they must obtainall the proper ingredients themselves, as well as prepare the recipethemselves including which cooking appliances need to be used.

An important issue in the creation, preservation, transformation,conditioning, and consumption of nutritional substances are the changesthat occur in nutritional substances due to a variety of internal andexternal factors. Because nutritional substances are composed ofbiological, organic, and/or chemical compounds, they are generallysubject to degradation. This degradation generally reduces thenutritional, organoleptic, and/or aesthetic values of nutritionalsubstances. While not always true, nutritional substances are bestconsumed at their point of creation. However, being able to consumenutritional substances at the farm, at the slaughterhouse, at thefishery, or at the food processing plant is at least inconvenient, ifnot impossible. Currently, the food and beverage industry attempts tominimize the loss of nutritional value (often through the use ofadditives or preservatives), and/or attempts to hide this loss ofnutritional value from consumers.

Overall, the examples herein of some prior or related systems and theirassociated limitations are intended to be illustrative and notexclusive. Other limitations of existing or prior systems will becomeapparent to those of skill in the art upon reading the followingDetailed Description.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to obtain information regardingthe source, packaging and transformation of the nutritional substance toprovide to the consumer.

It is another object of the present invention to obtain informationregarding the source, packaging and transformation of the nutritionalsubstance, and the conditioning of the nutritional substance to provideto the consumer.

It is a further object of the present invention to modify theconditioning of the nutritional substance according to the source,packaging and/or transformation information.

It is a further object of the present invention to use source, packagingand transformation information to appropriately select the conditioningsettings for a single conditioning apparatus and/or multipleconditioning apparatuses.

It is another object of the present invention to select the conditioningsettings according to the preferences and/or needs of the consumer.

It is a further object of the present invention to use external recipeinformation to modify the conditioning of a nutritional substanceaccording to the needs and/or tastes of the consumer.

It is an object of the present invention to minimize and/or trackdegradation of nutritional, organoleptic, and/or aesthetic value ofnutritional substances, and/or collect, store, and/or transmitinformation regarding this degradation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In an embodiment of the present invention, information regarding thesource, packaging and transformation of a nutritional substance istransmitted to the consumer following the conditioning of the product.

In another embodiment of the present invention, information regardingthe source, packaging and transformation of a nutritional substance isused in the conditioning of the nutritional substance to preservenutritional value and/or improve the quality of the conditionednutritional substance.

In a further embodiment of the present invention, that one or moreconditions apparatuses use source, packaging and/or transformationinformation to modify the conditioning of the nutritional substance.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the consumer's needsand/or preferences are used by the conditioning apparatus in thepreparation of the nutritional substance.

In a further embodiment of the present invention, external recipeinformation is used by the conditioning apparatus to modify theconditioning of the nutritional substance.

The an embodiment of the present invention provides a system for thecreation, collection, storage, transmission, and/or processing ofinformation regarding nutritional substances so as to improve, maintain,or minimize degradation of nutritional, organoleptic, and/or aestheticvalue of nutritional substances. Additionally, the present inventionprovides such information for use by the creators, preservers,transformers, conditioners, and consumers of nutritional substances. Thenutritional information creation, preservation, and transmission systemof the present invention should allow the nutritional substance supplysystem to improve its ability to minimize degradation of nutritional,organoleptic and/or aesthetic value of the nutritional substance, and/orinform the consumer about such degradation. While the ultimate goal ofthe nutritional substance supply system is to minimize degradation ofnutritional, organoleptic and/or aesthetic value, an interim goal shouldbe providing consumers with significant information regardingdegradation of nutritional substances consumers select and consume.Entities within the nutritional substance supply system who provide suchinformation regarding nutritional substance degradation will be able todifferentiate their products from those who obscure and/or hide suchinformation. Additionally, such entities should be able to charge apremium for products which either maintain their nutritional,organoleptic, and/or aesthetic value, or supply more completeinformation.

Other advantages and features will become apparent from the followingdescription and claims. It should be understood that the description andspecific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and notintended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification, exemplify the embodiments of the presentinvention and, together with the description, serve to explain andillustrate principles of the invention. The drawings are intended toillustrate major features of the exemplary embodiments in a diagrammaticmanner. The drawings are not intended to depict every feature of actualembodiments nor relative dimensions of the depicted elements, and arenot drawn to scale.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic functional block diagram of a nutritionalsubstance supply relating to the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows a graph representing a value of a nutritional substancewhich changes according to a change of condition for the nutritionalsubstance;

FIG. 3 shows a schematic functional block diagram of the conditioningmodule 500 according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 shows a schematic functional block diagram of the conditioningmodule 500 according to an alternate embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 5 shows a schematic functional block diagram of the conditioningmodule 500 according to an alternate embodiment of the presentinvention; and

FIG. 6 shows a schematic functional block diagram of the conditioningmodule 500 according to an alternate embodiment of the presentinvention.

In the drawings, the same reference numbers and any acronyms identifyelements or acts with the same or similar structure or functionality forease of understanding and convenience. To easily identify the discussionof any particular element or act, the most significant digit or digitsin a reference number refer to the Figure number in which that elementis first introduced.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Various examples of the invention will now be described. The followingdescription provides specific details for a thorough understanding andenabling description of these examples. One skilled in the relevant artwill understand, however, that the invention may be practiced withoutmany of these details. Likewise, one skilled in the relevant art willalso understand that the invention can include many other obviousfeatures not described in detail herein. Additionally, some well-knownstructures or functions may not be shown or described in detail below,so as to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the relevant description.

The terminology used below is to be interpreted in its broadestreasonable manner, even though it is being used in conjunction with adetailed description of certain specific examples of the invention.Indeed, certain terms may even be emphasized below; however, anyterminology intended to be interpreted in any restricted manner will beovertly and specifically defined as such in this Detailed Descriptionsection.

The following discussion provides a brief, general description of arepresentative environment in which the invention can be implemented.Although not required, aspects of the invention may be described belowin the general context of computer-executable instructions, such asroutines executed by a general-purpose data processing device (e.g., aserver computer or a personal computer). Those skilled in the relevantart will appreciate that the invention can be practiced with othercommunications, data processing, or computer system configurations,including: wireless devices, Internet appliances, hand-held devices(including personal digital assistants (PDAs)), wearable computers, allmanner of cellular or mobile phones, multi-processor systems,microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, set-topboxes, network PCs, mini-computers, mainframe computers, and the like.Indeed, the terms “controller,” “computer,” “server,” and the like areused interchangeably herein, and may refer to any of the above devicesand systems.

While aspects of the invention, such as certain functions, are describedas being performed exclusively on a single device, the invention canalso be practiced in distributed environments where functions or modulesare shared among disparate processing devices. The disparate processingdevices are linked through a communications network, such as a LocalArea Network (LAN), Wide Area Network (WAN), or the Internet. In adistributed computing environment, program modules may be located inboth local and remote memory storage devices.

Aspects of the invention may be stored or distributed on tangiblecomputer-readable media, including magnetically or optically readablecomputer discs, hard-wired or preprogrammed chips (e.g., EEPROMsemiconductor chips), nanotechnology memory, biological memory, or otherdata storage media. Alternatively, computer implemented instructions,data structures, screen displays, and other data related to theinvention may be distributed over the Internet or over other networks(including wireless networks), on a propagated signal on a propagationmedium (e.g., an electromagnetic wave(s), a sound wave, etc.) over aperiod of time. In some implementations, the data may be provided on anyanalog or digital network (packet switched, circuit switched, or otherscheme).

In some instances, the interconnection between modules is the internet,allowing the modules (with, for example, WiFi capability) to access webcontent offered through various web servers. The network may be any typeof cellular, IP-based or converged telecommunications network, includingbut not limited to Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), TimeDivision Multiple Access (TDMA), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA),Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDM), General PacketRadio Service (GPRS), Enhanced Data GSM Environment (EDGE), AdvancedMobile Phone System (AMPS), Worldwide Interoperability for MicrowaveAccess (WiMAX), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS),Evolution-Data Optimized (EVDO), Long Term Evolution (LTE), Ultra MobileBroadband (UMB), Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), Unlicensed MobileAccess (UMA), etc.

The modules in the systems can be understood to be integrated in someinstances and in particular embodiments, only particular modules may beinterconnected.

FIG. 1 shows the components of a nutritional substance industry 10. Itshould be understood that this could be the food and beverage andbeverage ecosystem for human consumption, but could also be the feedindustry for animal consumption, such as the pet food industry. A goalof the present invention for nutritional substance industry 10 is tocreate, preserve, transform and trace the qualitative, organoleptic andnutritional properties of nutritional substances through their creation,preservation, transformation, conditioning and consumption. While thenutritional substance industry 10 can be composed of many companies orbusinesses, it can also be integrated into combinations of businessserving many roles, or can be one business or even individual.

Module 200 is the creation module. This can be system, organization, orindividual which creates and/or originates nutritional substances.Examples of this module include a farm which grows produce. It can be aranch which raises beef. It can be an aquaculture far for growingshrimp. It could be a factory with synthesizes nutritional compounds. Itcould be collector of wild truffles. If could be a deep sea crabtrawler.

Preservation module 300 is a preservation system for preserving andprotecting the nutritional substances created by creation module 200.Once the nutritional substance has been created, generally, it will needto be packaged in some manner for its transition to other modules in thenutritional substances industry 10. While preservation module 300 isshown in a particular position in the nutritional substance industry 10,following the creation module 200, it should be understood that thepreservation module 300 actual can be placed anywhere nutritionalsubstances need to be preserved during their transition from creation toconsumption.

Transformation module 400 is a nutritional substance processing system,such as a manufacturer who processes raw materials such as grains intobreakfast cereals. Transformation module 400 could also be aready-to-eat dinner manufacturer who receives the components for aready-to-eat dinner from preservation module 300 and prepares them intoa frozen dinner. While transformation module 400 is depicted as onemodule, it will be understood that nutritional substances may betransformed by a number of transformation modules 400 on their path toconsumption.

Conditioning module 500 is a consumer preparation system for preparingthe nutritional substance immediately before consumption by theconsumer. Conditioning module 500 can be a microwave oven, a blender, atoaster, a convection oven, a cook, etc. It can also be systems used bycommercial establishments to prepare nutritional substance for consumerssuch as a restaurant, an espresso maker, pizza oven, and other deviceslocated at businesses which provide nutritional substances to consumers.Such nutritional substances could be for consumption at the business orfor the consumer to take out from the business. Conditioning module 500can also be a combination of any of these devices used to preparenutritional substances for consumption by consumers.

Consumer module 600 collects information from the living entity whichconsumes the nutritional substance which has passed through the variousmodules from creation to consumption. The consumer can be a human being,but could also be an animal, such as pets, zoo animals and livestock,which are they themselves nutritional substances for other consumptionchains. Consumers could also be plant life which consumes nutritionalsubstances to grow.

Information module 100 receives and transmits information regarding anutritional substance between each of the modules in the nutritionalsubstance industry 10 including, the creation module 200, thepreservation module 300, the transformation module 400, the conditioningmodule 500, and the consumer module 600. The nutritional substanceinformation module 100 can be an interconnecting informationtransmission system which allows the transmission of information betweenvarious modules. Information module 100 contains a database where theinformation regarding the nutritional substance resides. Informationmodule 100 can be connected to the other modules by a variety ofcommunication systems, such as paper, computer networks, the internetand telecommunication systems, such as wireless telecommunicationsystems.

FIG. 2 is a graph showing the function of how a value of a nutritionalsubstance varies over the change in a condition of the nutritionalsubstance. Plotted on the vertical axis of this graph can be either thenutritional value, organoleptic value, or even the aesthetic value of anutritional substance. Plotted on the horizontal axis can be the changein condition of nutritional substance over a variable such as time,temperature, location, and/or exposure to environmental conditions. Thisexposure to environmental conditions can include exposure to air,including oxygen, exposure to moisture, exposure to radiation such asheat or sunlight, or exposure to materials such as packaging. Thefunction plotted as nutritional substance A could show the degradationof in the nutritional value of milk over time. Any point on this curvecan be compared to another point to measure and/or describe the changein nutritional value. The plot of the degradation in nutritional valueof nutritional substance B describes a nutritional substance whichstarts out with a higher nutritional value than nutritional substance A,but degrades over time more quickly than nutritional substance A.

If, in this example, where nutritional substance A and nutritionalsubstance B are milk, this information regarding the nutritionalsubstance degradation profile of each milk could be used by the consumerin the selection and/or consumption of the milk. If the consumer hasthis information at time zero when selecting a milk product forpurchase, the consumer could consider when the consumer plans to consumethe milk, whether that is on one occasion or multiple occasions. Forexample, if the consumer planned to consume the milk prior to the pointwhen the curve represented by nutritional substance B crosses the curverepresented by nutritional substance A, then the consumer should choosethe milk represented by nutritional substance B because it has a highernutritional value until it crosses the curve represented by nutritionalsubstance A. However, if the consumer expects to consume at least someof the milk at a point in time after the time when the curve representedby nutritional substance B crosses the curve represented by nutritionalsubstance A, then the consumer might choose to select the milkrepresented by the nutritional substance A, even though milk representedby nutritional substance A has a lower nutritional value than the milkrepresented by nutritional substance B at an earlier time. This changeto a desired value in a nutritional substance over a change in thenutritional substance described in FIG. 2 can be measured and/orcontrolled throughout nutritional substance supply system 10 in FIG. 1.

In FIG. 1, Creation module 200 can dynamically encode nutritionalsubstances to enable the tracking of nutritional, organoleptic, and/oraesthetic value of the nutritional substance. This dynamic encoding canreplace and/or complement existing nutritional substance marking systemssuch as barcodes, labels, and/or ink markings. This dynamic encoding canbe used to make nutritional substance information from creation module200 available to information module 100 for use by preservation module300, transformation module 400, conditioning module 500, and/orconsumption module 600, which includes the ultimate consumer of thenutritional substance. One method of marking the nutritional substanceby creation module 200 (or actually any other module in nutritionalsupply system 10) could include an electronic tagging system, such asthe tagging system manufactured by Kovio of San Jose, Calif., USA. Suchthin film chips can be used not only for tracking nutritionalsubstances, by can include components to measure attributes ofnutritional substances, and record and transmit such information. Suchinformation may be readable by a reader including a satellite-basedsystem. Such a satellite-based nutritional substance informationtracking system could comprise a network of satellites with coverage ofsome or all the surface of the earth, so as to allow information module100 real time, near real time updates about a particular nutritionalsubstance.

Preservation module 300 includes packers and shippers of nutritionalsubstances. The tracking of nutritional, organoleptic, and/or aestheticvalues during the preservation period within preservation module 300allows for dynamic expiration dates for nutritional substances. Forexample, expiration dates for dairy products are currently basedgenerally only on time using assumptions regarding minimal conditions atwhich dairy products are maintained. This extrapolated expiration dateis based on a worst-case scenario for when the product becomes unsafe toconsume during the preservation period. In reality, the degradation ofdairy products may be significantly less than this worst-case. Ifpreservation module 300 could measure or derive the actual degradationinformation, the actual expiration date could be significantly later intime. This would allow the nutritional substance supply system todispose of fewer products due to expiration dates. This ability todynamically generate expiration dates for nutritional substances is ofparticular significance when nutritional substances contain few or nopreservatives. Such products are highly valued throughout nutritionalsubstance supply system 10, including consumers who are willing to pay apremium for nutritional substances with few or no preservatives.

By law, in many localities, food processors such as those intransformation module 400 are required to provide nutritional substanceinformation regarding their products. Often, this information takes theform of a nutritional table applied to the packaging of the nutritionalsubstance. Currently, the information in this nutritional table is basedon averages or minimums for their typical product. Using the nutritionalsubstance information from information module 100 provided by creationmodule 200, preservation module 300, and/or information from thetransformation of the nutritional substance by transformation module400, the food processor could include a nutritional table for the actualnutritional substance being supplied. The information in such adynamically generated nutritional table could be used by conditioningmodule 500 in the preparation of the nutritional substance, and/or usedby consumption module 600, so as to allow the ultimate consumer theability to select the most desirable nutritional substance which meetstheir needs, and/or to track information regarding nutritionalsubstances consumed.

The change in nutritional, organoleptic, and/or aesthetic value byconditioning module 500 is currently not tracked or provided to theconsumer. However, using information provided by information module 100from creation module 200, preservation module 300, transformation module400, and/or information measured or generated by conditioning module500, conditioning module 500 could provide consumer with the actual,and/or estimated change in nutritional, organoleptic, and/or aestheticvalues of the nutritional substance. Such information regarding thechange to nutritional, organoleptic and/or aesthetic value of thenutritional substance could be provided not only to the consumer, butcould also be provided to information module 100 for use by creationmodule 200, preservation module 300, transformation module 400, so as totrack, and possibly improve nutritional substances throughout the entirenutritional substance supply system 10.

The information regarding nutritional substances provided by informationmodule 100 to consumption module 600 can replace or complement existinginformation sources such as recipe books, food databases likewww.epicurious.com, and Epicurious apps. Through the use of specificinformation regarding a nutritional substance from information module100, consumers can use consumption module 600 to select nutritionalsubstances according to nutritional, organoleptic, and/or aestheticvalues. This will allow consumers to make informed decisions regardingnutritional substance additives, preservatives, genetic modifications,origins, traceability, and other nutritional substance attributes. Thisinformation can be provided by consumption module 600 through personalcomputers, laptop computers, tablet computers, and/or smartphones.Software running on these devices can include dedicated computerprograms, modules within general programs, and/or smartphone apps. Anexample of such a smartphone app regarding nutritional substances is theiOS ShopNoGMO from the Institute for Responsible Technology. This iPhoneapp allows consumers access to information regarding non-geneticallymodified organisms they may select. Additionally, consumption module 600may provide information for the consumer to operate conditioning module500 in such a manner as to preserve nutritional, organoleptic, and/oraesthetic value.

Through the use of nutritional substance information available frominformation module 100, nutritional substance supply system 10 can tracknutritional, organoleptic, and/or aesthetic value. Using thisinformation, nutritional substances travelling through nutritionalsubstance supply system 10 can be dynamically valued and pricedaccording to nutritional, organoleptic, and/or aesthetic values. Forexample, nutritional substances with longer expiration dates (longershelf life) may be more highly valued than nutritional substances withshorter expiration dates. Additionally, nutritional substances withhigher nutritional, organoleptic, and/or aesthetic values may be morehighly valued, not just by the consumer, but also by each entity withinnutritional substance supply system 10. This is because each entity willwant to start with a nutritional substance with higher nutritional,organoleptic, and/or aesthetic value before it performs its function andpasses the nutritional substance along to the next entity.

During the period of implementation of the present inventions, therewill be nutritional substances being marketed which include nutritionalinformation (information-enabled nutritional substances), andnutritional substances which are not information enabled, dumbnutritional substances. Information-enabled nutritional substances wouldbe available in virtual internet marketplaces, as well as traditionalmarketplaces. Because of information provided by information-enablednutritional substances, entities within the nutritional substance supplysystem 10, including consumers, would be able to review and selectinformation-enabled nutritional substances for purchase. It should beexpected that, initially, the information-enabled nutritional substanceswould enjoy a higher market value and price than dumb nutritionalsubstances. However, as information-enabled nutritional substancesbecome more the norm, the cost savings from less waste due todegradation of information-enabled nutritional substances could lead totheir price actually becoming less than dumb nutritional substances.

For example, the producer of a ready-to-eat dinner would prefer to usecorn of a high nutritional, organoleptic, and/or aesthetic value in theproduction of its product, the ready-to-eat dinner, so as to produce apremium product of high nutritional, organoleptic, and/or aestheticvalue. Depending upon the levels of the nutritional, organoleptic,and/or aesthetic values, the ready-to-eat dinner producer may be able tocharge a premium price and/or differentiate its product from that ofother producers. When selecting the corn to be used in the ready-to-eatdinner, the producer will seek corn of high nutritional, organoleptic,and/or aesthetic value from preservation module 300 that meets itsrequirements for nutritional, organoleptic, and/or aesthetic value. Thepackager/shipper of preservation module 300 would also be able to chargea premium for corn which has high nutritional, organoleptic, and/oraesthetic values. And finally, the packager/shipper of preservationmodule 300 will select corn of high nutritional, organoleptic, and/oraesthetic value from the grower of creation module 200, who will also beable to charge a premium for corn of high nutritional, organoleptic,and/or aesthetic values.

The nutritional, organoleptic, and/or aesthetic value for a nutritionalsubstance tracked through nutritional substance supply system 10 throughnutritional substance information from information module 100 can bepreferably measured information. However, some or all such nutritionalsubstance information may be derived through measurements ofenvironmental conditions of the nutritional substance as it travelledthrough nutritional substance supply system 10. Additionally, some orall of nutritional substance information can be derived from data ofother nutritional substances which have travelled through nutritionalsubstance supply system 10. Finally, nutritional substance informationcan also be derived from laboratory experiments performed on othernutritional substances, which may approximate conditions and/orprocesses to which the actual nutritional substance has been exposed.

For example, laboratory experiments can be performed on bananas todetermine effect on nutritional, organoleptic, and/or aesthetic valuefor a variety of environmental conditions bananas may be exposed toduring packaging and shipment in preservation module 300. Using thisexperimental data, tables and/or algorithms could be developed whichwould predict the level of nutritional, organoleptic, and/or aestheticvalues for a particular banana based upon information collectedregarding the environmental conditions to which the banana was exposedduring its time in preservation module 300. While the ultimate goal fornutritional substance supply system 10 would be the actual measurementof nutritional, organoleptic, and/or aesthetic values, use of derivednutritional, organoleptic, and/or aesthetic value from experimentalinformation would allow more accurate tracking of nutritional,organoleptic, and/or aesthetic values while technology and systems areput in place to allow actual measurement.

FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of conditioning module 500 of the presentinvention. Conditioner system 510 receives nutritional substance 520 forconditioning before it is delivered to consumer 540. Controller 530 isoperably connected to conditioner system 510. In fact, controller 530may be integrated within conditioner system 510, although in FIG. 2, itis shown as a separate device. When conditioner system 510 receivesnutritional substance 520 for conditioning, nutritional substance reader590 either receives or references information regarding nutritionalsubstance 520, and provides it to controller 530. In the case wherenutritional substance 520 contains a label which includes informationabout nutritional substance 520, nutritional substance reader 590 readsthis information, provides it to controller 530 and makes it availableto consumer 540 by means of consumer interface 560.

For example, if nutritional substance 520 is a ready-to-eat frozendinner which needs to be heated by conditioner system 510, nutritionalsubstance reader 590 would read a label on nutritional substance 520,provide it to controller 530. This information could include creationinformation as to the creation of the various components whichconstitute the ready-to-eat dinner. This information could includeinformation about where and how the corn in the ready-to-eat dinner wasgrown, including the corn seed used, where it was planted, how it wasplanted, how it was irrigated, when it was picked, and information onfertilizers and pesticides used during its growth. Additionally, thisinformation could include the cattle lineage, health, immunization,dietary supplements that were fed to the cattle that were slaughtered toobtain the beef in the ready-to-eat dinner.

The information on nutritional substance 520 could also includeinformation on how the components were preserved for shipment from thefarm or slaughterhouse on their path to the nutritional substancetransformer who prepared the ready-to-eat dinner. Additional informationcould include how the nutritional substance transformer transformed thecomponents into the ready-to-eat dinner, such as recipe used, additivesto the dinner, and actual measured conditions during the transformationinto the ready-to-eat dinner.

While such information could be stored on a label located on thepackaging for nutritional substance 520 so as to be read by nutritionalsubstance reader 590, provided to controller 530, and provided toconsumer interface 560 for display to consumer 540, preferably, thelabel on the nutritional substance package includes referenceinformation which is read by nutritional substance reader 590 andprovided to controller 530 that allows controller 530 to retrieve theinformation about nutritional substance 520 from nutritional substancedatabase 550.

Nutritional substance database 550 could be a database maintained by thetransformer of nutritional substance 520 for access by consumers of suchnutritional substance 520. However, preferably, nutritional substancedatabase 550 is a database maintained by the nutritional substanceindustry for all such information regarding nutritional substancesgrown, raised, preserved, transformed, conditioned and consumed byconsumer 540.

In an alternate embodiment of the present invention, controller 530, inaddition to providing information regarding nutritional substance 520 toconsumer 540, controller 530 also receives information from conditionersystem 510 on how nutritional substance 520 was conditioned.Additionally, conditioner system 510 may also measure or senseinformation about nutritional substance 520 during its conditioning byconditioner system 510, and provide such information to controller 530,so that such information could also be provided to consumer 540, viaconsumer interface 560.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, controller 530organizes and correlates the information it receives regardingnutritional substance 520 from the various sources of such information,including nutritional substance database 550 and conditioner system 510,and presents such information through consumer interface 560 to consumer540 in a manner useful to consumer 540. For example, such informationmay be provided in a manner that assists consumer 540 in understandinghow nutritional substance 520 meets consumer's 540 nutritional needs. Itcould organize information regarding nutritional substance 520 to trackconsumer's 540 weight loss program. Controller 530 could have access to,or maintain, information regarding consumer 540, so as to track andassist consumer 540 in meeting their specific nutritional needs.

In another embodiment of the present invention conditioner system 510could be a plurality of conditioner devices which can be selectivelyoperated by controller 530 to prepare nutritional substance 520.Conditioner system 510 can be either a single conditioning device, suchas a microwave oven, conventional oven, toaster, blender, steamer,stovetop, or human cook. Conditioner system 510 may be a plurality ofconditioners 570. In the case where a plurality of conditioners 570comprise conditioner system 510, nutritional system 520 may be manuallyor automatically transferred between conditioners 570 for eventualtransfer to consumer 540.

Nutritional substance reader 590 may be an automatic reader such as abarcode reader or RFID sensor which receives information fromnutritional substance 520 or a reference code from nutritional substance520 and provides this information to controller 530. Nutritionalsubstance reader 590 might also be a manual entry system where thereference code for nutritional substance 520 is manually entered intonutritional substance reader 590 for controller 530.

Nutritional substance database 550 could be a flat database, relationaldatabase or, preferably, a multi-dimensional database. Nutritionalsubstance database 550 could be local but, preferably, it would belocated remotely, such as on the internet, and accessed via atelecommunication system, such as a wireless telecommunication system.Controller 530 can be implemented using a computing device, such as amicro-controller, micro-processor, personal computer, or tabletcomputer. Controller 530 could be integrated to include nutritionalsubstance reader 590, consumer interface 560, and/or nutritionalsubstance database 550. Additionally, controller 530 may be integratedin conditioner system 510, including integration into conditioner 570.

Consumer interface 560 can be implemented as a display device mounted oncontroller 530, conditioner system 510, or conditioner 570. However,consumer interface 560 is preferably a tablet computer, personalcomputer, personal assistant, or smart phone, running appropriatesoftware, such as an app.

While conditioner module 500 can be located in the consumer's home,conditioner module 500 may be located at a restaurant or other foodservice establishment for use in preparing nutritional substances 520for consumers who patronize such an establishment. Additionally,conditioner module 500 could be located at a nutritional substanceseller such as a grocery store or health food store for preparation ofnutritional substances 520 purchased by consumers at such anestablishment. It could be foreseen that conditioner modules 500 couldbecome standalone businesses where consumers select nutritionalsubstances for preparation at the establishment or removal from theestablishment for consumption elsewhere.

FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of conditioning module 500 of the presentinvention. Conditioner system 510 receives nutritional substance 520 forconditioning before it is delivered to consumer 540. Controller 530 isoperably connected to conditioner system 510. In fact, controller 530may be integrated within conditioner system 510, although in FIG. 2, itis shown as a separate device. When conditioner system 510 receivesnutritional substance 520 for conditioning, nutritional substance reader590 either receives or references information regarding nutritionalsubstance 520, an provides it to controller 530. In the case wherenutritional substance 520 contains a label which includes informationabout nutritional substance 520, nutritional substance reader 590 readsthis information, provides it to controller 530 and makes it availableto consumer 540 by means of consumer interface 560.

In an embodiment of the present invention, conditioner system 510comprises conditioner 570. Conditioner 570 is a conditioning apparatuswhich can perform a number of operations on nutritional substance 520,separately and/or at the same time. For example, conditioner 570 couldbe a combination microwave oven, convection oven, grill, andconventional oven. Controller 530 could operate conditioner 570 toexecute a sequence of conditioning cycles on nutritional substance 520to complete its conditioning.

For example, if nutritional substance 520 is a whole frozen turkey to beprepared for dinner, consumer 540 would place the turkey in conditioner570, the combination cooking unit suggested above. Controller 530 wouldreceive and/or create a protocol of conditioning cycles. Such a protocolcould be read by nutritional substance reader 590 from a label onnutritional substance 520. Alternately, a protocol of conditioningcycles could be obtained from nutritional substance database 550 throughreference information obtained by nutritional substance reader 590 bynutritional substance 520. For example, a label on the turkey, could beread by nutritional substance reader 590, providing referenceinformation for the turkey which controller 530 uses to obtain aconditioning protocol for the turkey from nutritional substance database550.

An example of such a conditioning protocol for a frozen turkey could beto operate conditioner 570, the combination cooking unit in thefollowing fashion. First, controller 530 instructs conditioner 570 touse the microwave function of the combination cooking unit to defrostthe turkey according to the protocol and possibly according toconditioner information provided by conditioner 570, such as the weightof the turkey and information regarding the defrosting process asmeasured by conditioner 570. Following defrosting of the turkey,controller 530 next instructs the combination cooking unit to operate asa convection oven to cook the turkey for a sufficient length of time soas to ensure that the turkey reaches the proper internal temperature tomeet safety requirements, and to maximize organoleptic and/ornutritional properties. Following the convection oven cooking of theturkey, controller 530 could instruct the combination cooking unit togrill the turkey for a sufficient period of time to create a desirablegolden and crispy skin. Finally, controller 530 could instruct thecombination cooking unit to use all three cooking functions at the sametime to prepare the turkey for optimal consumption.

Alternately, conditioner system 510 could be composed of a plurality ofconditioners 570. While an automated system for moving a nutritionalsubstance between such conditioners would be optimal, conditioner system510 could be operated manually by consumer 540 from instructionsprovided to consumer interface 560. In this embodiment, controller 530could provide consumer 540 with instructions as to where to move theturkey after each step in the conditioning protocol. In this example,controller 530 instructs consumer 540 through consumer interface 560 tofirst place the frozen turkey in conditioner 570, a microwave oven.Controller 530 instructs the microwave oven to defrost the turkey basedon information possibly provided by nutritional substance reader 590,nutritional substance database 550 and/or conditioner 570. Uponcompletion of defrosting by the microwave oven, controller 530 couldinstruct consumer 540 through interface 560 to move the defrosted turkeyfrom the microwave oven to another conditioner 570, a convection oven.Controller 530 would operate the convection oven to cooke the turkey fora sufficient length of time so as to ensure that the turkey reaches theproper internal temperature to meet safety requirements, and to maximizeorganoleptic and/or nutritional properties. Finally, following thecooking cycle in the convection oven, controller 530 could instructconsumer 540 through consumer interface 560 to move the turkey from theconvection oven to another conditioner 570, a grill. Controller 530would operate the grill so as to grill the turkey for a sufficientperiod of time to create a desirable golden and crispy skin.

In the case where conditioner system 510 is a plurality of conditioners570, it would also be possible for controller 530 to manage conditioners570 within conditioner system 510 so as to produce a complete meal. Forexample, controller 530 could select conditioning protocols which wouldmaximize the use of each conditioner 570. For example, in a mealcomprising a turkey, home baked bread, and acorn squash, controller 530could stage and operate the microwave oven, convection oven, and grillto minimize preparation time for the meal by determining which itemshould be cooked in which conditioner 570, in which order, to maximizeusage of each conditioner 570 in conditioning system 510. In thisexample, while the turkey is being defrosted in the microwave oven,controller 530 could instruct consumer 540 through interface 560 toplace the bread dough in the convection oven and the acorn squash on thegrill. Following the defrosting of the turkey, when the turkey is movedto the convection oven, which finished baking the bread, the bread couldbe moved to the grill for browning, and the acorn squash could be movedto microwave oven to keep warm, until the entire meal is ready.

For example, if nutritional substance 520 is a ready-to-eat frozendinner which needs to be heated by conditioner system 510, nutritionalsubstance reader 590 would read a label on nutritional substance 520,provide it to controller 530. This information could include creationinformation as to the creation of the various components whichconstitute the ready-to-eat dinner. This information could includeinformation about where and how the corn in the ready-to-eat dinner wasgrown, including the corn seed used, where it was planted, how it wasplanted, how it was irrigated, when it was picked, and information onfertilizers and pesticides used during its growth. Additionally, thisinformation could include the cattle lineage, health, immunization,dietary supplements that were fed to the cattle that was slaughtered toobtain the beef in the ready-to-eat dinner.

The information on nutritional substance 520 could also includeinformation on how the components were preserved for shipment from thefarm or slaughterhouse on their path to the nutritional substancetransformer who prepared the ready-to-eat dinner. Additional informationcould include how the nutritional substance transformer transformed thecomponents into the ready-to-eat dinner, such as recipe used, additivesto the dinner, and actual measured conditions during the transformationinto the ready-to-eat dinner.

While such information could be stored on a label located on thepackaging for nutritional substance 520 so as to be read by nutritionalsubstance reader 590, provided to controller 530, and provided toconsumer interface 560 for display to consumer 540, preferably, thelabel on the nutritional substance package includes referenceinformation which is read by nutritional substance reader 590 andprovided to controller 530 that allows controller 530 to retrieve theinformation about nutritional substance 520 from nutritional substancedatabase 550.

Nutritional substance database 550 could be a database maintained by thetransformer of nutritional substance 520 for access by consumers of suchnutritional substance 520. However, preferably, nutritional substancedatabase 550 is a database maintained by the nutritional substanceindustry for all such information regarding nutritional substancesgrown, raised, preserved, transformed, conditioned and consumed byconsumer 540.

In an alternate embodiment of the present invention, controller 530, inaddition to providing information regarding nutritional substance 520 toconsumer 540, controller 530 also receives information from conditionersystem 510 on how nutritional substance 520 was conditioned.Additionally, conditioner system 510 may also measure or senseinformation about nutritional substance 520 during its conditioning byconditioner system 510, and provide such information to controller 530,so that such information could also be provided to consumer 540, viaconsumer interface 560.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, controller 530organizes and correlates the information it receives regardingnutritional substance 520 from the various sources of such information,including nutritional substance database 550 and conditioner system 510,and presents such information through consumer interface 560 to consumer540 in a manner useful to consumer 540. For example, such informationmay be provided in a manner that assists consumer 540 in understandinghow nutritional substance 520 meets consumer's 540 nutritional needs. Itcould organize information regarding nutritional substance 520 to trackconsumer's 540 weight loss program. Controller 530 could have access to,or maintain, information regarding consumer 540, so as to track andassist consumer 540 in meeting their specific nutritional needs.

In another embodiment of the present invention conditioner system 510could be a plurality of conditioner devices which can be selectivelyoperated by controller 530 to prepare nutritional substance 520.Conditioner system 510 can be either a single conditioning device, suchas a microwave oven, conventional oven, toaster, blender, steamer,stovetop, or human cook. Conditioner system 510 may be a plurality ofconditioners 570. In the case where a plurality of conditioners 570comprise conditioner system 510, nutritional system 520 may be manuallyor automatically transferred between conditioners 570 for eventualtransfer to consumer 540.

Nutritional substance reader 590 may be an automatic reader such as abarcode reader or RFID sensor which receives information fromnutritional substance 520 or a reference code from nutritional substance520 and provides this information to controller 530. Nutritionalsubstance reader 590 might also be a manual entry system where thereference code for nutritional substance 520 is manually entered intonutritional substance reader 590 for controller 530.

Nutritional substance database 550 could be a flat database, relationaldatabase or, preferably, a multi-dimensional database. Nutritionalsubstance database 550 could be local but, preferably, it would belocated remotely, such as on the internet, and accessed via atelecommunication system, such as a wireless telecommunication system.Controller 530 can be implemented using a computing device, such as amicro-controller, micro-processor, personal computer, or tabletcomputer. Controller 530 could be integrated to include nutritionalsubstance reader 590, consumer interface 560, and/or nutritionalsubstance database 550. Additionally, controller 530 may be integratedin conditioner system 510, including integration into conditioner 570.

Consumer interface 560 can be implemented as a display device mounted oncontroller 530, conditioner system 510, or conditioner 570. However,consumer interface 560 is preferably a tablet computer, personalcomputer, personal assistant, or smart phone, running appropriatesoftware, such as an app.

While conditioner module 500 can be located in the consumer's home,conditioner module 500 may be located at a restaurant or other foodservice establishment for use in preparing nutritional substances 520for consumers who patronize such an establishment. Additionally,conditioner module 500 could be located at a nutritional substanceseller such as a grocery store or health food store for preparation ofnutritional substances 520 purchased by consumers at such anestablishment. It could be foreseen that conditioner modules 500 couldbecome standalone businesses where consumers select nutritionalsubstances for preparation at the establishment or removal from theestablishment for consumption elsewhere.

Additionally, controller 530 uses nutritional substance informationprovided by nutritional substance database 550 from referenceinformation from nutritional substance reader 590 to dynamically modifythe operation of conditioner system 510 to maintain organoleptic andnutritional properties of nutritional substance 520. For example, if thenutritional substance 520 is a ready-to-eat dinner, controller 530 couldmodify the instructions to conditioner system 530 in response toinformation regarding the corn used in the ready-to-eat dinner such thata temperature and cooking duration can be modified to affect theorganoleptic, nutritional, taste, and/or appearance of the corn.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the label on nutritionalsubstance 520 could contain the conditioning instructions fornutritional substance 520, or a reference to such conditioninginstructions in nutritional substance database 550. In operation, thiswould allow nutritional substance ready 590 to obtain informationnutritional substance 520 on how controller 530 dynamically operationsconditioner system 510 to condition nutritional substance 520, withoutconsumer intervention. Additionally, conditioning instructions fornutritional substance 520 could be provided for a variety of differentconditions systems 510, or conditioners 570, and controller could selectthe proper conditioning instructions.

In a further embodiment of the present invention, nutritional substancereader 590 and/or conditioner system 510 measures or senses informationabout the current state of nutritional substance 520 and provides suchinformation to controller 530 to allow controller 530 to dynamicallymodify operation of conditioner system 510.

In an additional embodiment of the present invention, consumer 540provides information regarding their needs and/or desires with regard tothe nutritional substance 520 to consumer interface 560. Consumerinterface 560 provides this information to controller 530 so as to allowcontroller 530 to dynamically modify conditioner system 510 in theconditioning of nutritional substance 520. Consumer's 540 needs and/ordesires could include nutritional parameters, taste parameters,aesthetic parameters. For example, consumer 540 may have needs forcertain nutrients which are present in nutritional substance 520 priorto conditioning. Controller 530 could modify operation of conditionersystem 510 so as to preserve such nutrients. For example, conditionersystem 500 can cook the nutritional substance at a lower temperatureand/or for a shorter duration so as to minimize nutrient loss.

Consumer 540 aesthetic desires could include how rare or well done theyprefer a particular nutritional substance to be prepared. For example,consumer 540 may prefer his vegetables to be crisp or pasta to beprepared al dente. With such information provided by consumer 540 toconsumer interface 560, controller 530 can dynamically modify operationof conditioner system 510.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, controller 530receives information regarding the history of nutritional substance 520,current information on nutritional substance 520, and consumer 540 needsand/or desires, and dynamically modifies operation of conditioner system510. For example, if nutritional substance 520 is a steak, controller530 would receive reference information regarding the steak, nutritionalsubstance 520, from nutritional substance reader 590. Controller 530would use this reference information to obtain information about thesteak from nutritional substance database 550. Controller 530 could alsoreceive current information about the steak from nutritional substancereader 590 and/or conditioner 510. Additionally, controller 530 couldreceive consumer 540 preferences from consumer interface 560. Finally,controller 530 could receive information from conditioner system 510during the conditioning of the steak, nutritional substance 520. Usingsome or all of such information, controller 530 would dynamically modifythe cooking of the steak to preserve organoleptic, nutritional, andaesthetic properties to meet consumer 540 needs. For example, the steakcould be cooked slowly to preserve iron levels within the meat, and alsocooked to well-done to meet consumer's 540 taste.

FIG. 5 shows an embodiment of conditioning module 500 of the presentinvention. Conditioner system 510 receives nutritional substance 520 forconditioning before it is delivered to consumer 540. Controller 530 isoperably connected to conditioner system 510. In fact, controller 530may be integrated within conditioner system 510, although in FIG. 2, itis shown as a separate device. When conditioner system 510 receivesnutritional substance 520 for conditioning, nutritional substance reader590 either receives or references information regarding nutritionalsubstance 520, an provides it to controller 530. In the case wherenutritional substance 520 contains a label which includes informationabout nutritional substance 520, nutritional substance reader 590 readsthis information, provides it to controller 530 and makes it availableto consumer 540 by means of consumer interface 560.

In an embodiment of the present invention, conditioner system 510comprises conditioner 570. Conditioner 570 is a conditioning apparatuswhich can perform a number of operations on nutritional substance 520,separately and/or at the same time. For example, conditioner 570 couldbe a combination microwave oven, convection oven, grill, andconventional oven. Controller 530 could operate conditioner 570 toexecute a sequence of conditioning cycles on nutritional substance 520to complete its conditioning.

For example, if nutritional substance 520 is a whole frozen turkey to beprepared for dinner, consumer 540 would place the turkey in conditioner570, the combination cooking unit suggested above. Controller 530 wouldreceive and/or create a protocol of conditioning cycles. Such a protocolcould be read by nutritional substance reader 590 from a label onnutritional substance 520. Alternately, a protocol of conditioningcycles could be obtained from nutritional substance database 550 throughreference information obtained by nutritional substance reader 590 bynutritional substance 520. For example, a label on the turkey, could beread by nutritional substance reader 590, providing referenceinformation for the turkey which controller 530 uses to obtain aconditioning protocol for the turkey from nutritional substance database550.

An example of such a conditioning protocol for a frozen turkey could beto operate conditioner 570, the combination cooking unit in thefollowing fashion. First, controller 530 instructs conditioner 570 touse the microwave function of the combination cooking unit to defrostthe turkey according to the protocol and possibly according toconditioner information provided by conditioner 570, such as the weightof the turkey and information regarding the defrosting process asmeasured by conditioner 570. Following defrosting of the turkey,controller 530 next instructs the combination cooking unit to operate asa convection oven to cook the turkey for a sufficient length of time soas to ensure that the turkey reaches the proper internal temperature tomeet safety requirements, and to maximize organoleptic and/ornutritional properties. Following the convection oven cooking of theturkey, controller 530 could instruct the combination cooking unit togrill the turkey for a sufficient period of time to create a desirablegolden and crispy skin. Finally, controller 530 could instruct thecombination cooking unit to use all three cooking functions at the sametime to prepare the turkey for optimal consumption.

Alternately, conditioner system 510 could be composed of a plurality ofconditioners 570. While an automated system for moving a nutritionalsubstance between such conditioners would be optimal, conditioner system510 could be operated manually by consumer 540 from instructionsprovided to consumer interface 560. In this embodiment, controller 530could provide consumer 540 with instructions as to where to move theturkey after each step in the conditioning protocol. In this example,controller 530 instructs consumer 540 through consumer interface 560 tofirst place the frozen turkey in conditioner 570, a microwave oven.Controller 530 instructs the microwave oven to defrost the turkey basedon information possibly provided by nutritional substance reader 590,nutritional substance database 550 and/or conditioner 570. Uponcompletion of defrosting by the microwave oven, controller 530 couldinstruct consumer 540 through interface 560 to move the defrosted turkeyfrom the microwave oven to another conditioner 570, a convection oven.Controller 530 would operate the convection oven to cooke the turkey fora sufficient length of time so as to ensure that the turkey reaches theproper internal temperature to meet safety requirements, and to maximizeorganoleptic and/or nutritional properties. Finally, following thecooking cycle in the convection oven, controller 530 could instructconsumer 540 through consumer interface 560 to move the turkey from theconvection oven to another conditioner 570, a grill. Controller 530would operate the grill so as to grill the turkey for a sufficientperiod of time to create a desirable golden and crispy skin.

In the case where conditioner system 510 is a plurality of conditioners570, it would also be possible for controller 530 to manage conditioners570 within conditioner system 510 so as to produce a complete meal. Forexample, controller 530 could select conditioning protocols which wouldmaximize the use of each conditioner 570. For example, in a mealcomprising a turkey, home baked bread, and acorn squash, controller 530could stage and operate the microwave oven, convection oven, and grillto minimize preparation time for the meal by determining which itemshould be cooked in which conditioner 570, in which order, to maximizeusage of each conditioner 570 in conditioning system 510. In thisexample, while the turkey is being defrosted in the microwave oven,controller 530 could instruct consumer 540 through interface 560 toplace the bread dough in the convection oven and the acorn squash on thegrill. Following the defrosting of the turkey, when the turkey is movedto the convection oven, which finished baking the bread, the bread couldbe moved to the grill for browning, and the acorn squash could be movedto microwave oven to keep warm, until the entire meal is ready.

For example, if nutritional substance 520 is a ready-to-eat frozendinner which needs to be heated by conditioner system 510, nutritionalsubstance reader 590 would read a label on nutritional substance 520,provide it to controller 530. This information could include creationinformation as to the creation of the various components whichconstitute the ready-to-eat dinner. This information could includeinformation about where and how the corn in the ready-to-eat dinner wasgrown, including the corn seed used, where it was planted, how it wasplanted, how it was irrigated, when it was picked, and information onfertilizers and pesticides used during its growth. Additionally, thisinformation could include the cattle lineage, health, immunization,dietary supplements that were fed to the cattle that was slaughtered toobtain the beef in the ready-to-eat dinner.

The information on nutritional substance 520 could also includeinformation on how the components were preserved for shipment from thefarm or slaughterhouse on their path to the nutritional substancetransformer who prepared the ready-to-eat dinner. Additional informationcould include how the nutritional substance transformer transformed thecomponents into the ready-to-eat dinner, such as recipe used, additivesto the dinner, and actual measured conditions during the transformationinto the ready-to-eat dinner.

While such information could be stored on a label located on thepackaging for nutritional substance 520 so as to be read by nutritionalsubstance reader 590, provided to controller 530, and provided toconsumer interface 560 for display to consumer 540, preferably, thelabel on the nutritional substance package includes referenceinformation which is read by nutritional substance reader 590 andprovided to controller 530 that allows controller 530 to retrieve theinformation about nutritional substance 520 from nutritional substancedatabase 550.

Nutritional substance database 550 could be a database maintained by thetransformer of nutritional substance 520 for access by consumers of suchnutritional substance 520. However, preferably, nutritional substancedatabase 550 is a database maintained by the nutritional substanceindustry for all such information regarding nutritional substancesgrown, raised, preserved, transformed, conditioned and consumed byconsumer 540.

In an alternate embodiment of the present invention, controller 530, inaddition to providing information regarding nutritional substance 520 toconsumer 540, controller 530 also receives information from conditionersystem 510 on how nutritional substance 520 was conditioned.Additionally, conditioner system 510 may also measure or senseinformation about nutritional substance 520 during its conditioning byconditioner system 510, and provide such information to controller 530,so that such information could also be provided to consumer 540, viaconsumer interface 560.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, controller 530organizes and correlates the information it receives regardingnutritional substance 520 from the various sources of such information,including nutritional substance database 550 and conditioner system 510,and presents such information through consumer interface 560 to consumer540 in a manner useful to consumer 540. For example, such informationmay be provided in a manner that assists consumer 540 in understandinghow nutritional substance 520 meets consumer's 540 nutritional needs. Itcould organize information regarding nutritional substance 520 to trackconsumer's 540 weight loss program. Controller 530 could have access to,or maintain, information regarding consumer 540, so as to track andassist consumer 540 in meeting their specific nutritional needs.

In another embodiment of the present invention conditioner system 510could be a plurality of conditioner devices which can be selectivelyoperated by controller 530 to prepare nutritional substance 520.Conditioner system 510 can be either a single conditioning device, suchas a microwave oven, conventional oven, toaster, blender, steamer,stovetop, or human cook. Conditioner system 510 may be a plurality ofconditioners 570. In the case where a plurality of conditioners 570comprise conditioner system 510, nutritional system 520 may be manuallyor automatically transferred between conditioners 570 for eventualtransfer to consumer 540.

Nutritional substance reader 590 may be an automatic reader such as abarcode reader or RFID sensor which receives information fromnutritional substance 520 or a reference code from nutritional substance520 and provides this information to controller 530. Nutritionalsubstance reader 590 might also be a manual entry system where thereference code for nutritional substance 520 is manually entered intonutritional substance reader 590 for controller 530.

Nutritional substance database 550 could be a flat database, relationaldatabase or, preferably, a multi-dimensional database. Nutritionalsubstance database 550 could be local but, preferably, it would belocated remotely, such as on the internet, and accessed via atelecommunication system, such as a wireless telecommunication system.Controller 530 can be implemented using a computing device, such as amicro-controller, micro-processor, personal computer, or tabletcomputer. Controller 530 could be integrated to include nutritionalsubstance reader 590, consumer interface 560, and/or nutritionalsubstance database 550. Additionally, controller 530 may be integratedin conditioner system 510, including integration into conditioner 570.

Consumer interface 560 can be implemented as a display device mounted oncontroller 530, conditioner system 510, or conditioner 570. However,consumer interface 560 is preferably a tablet computer, personalcomputer, personal assistant, or smart phone, running appropriatesoftware, such as an app.

While conditioner module 500 can be located in the consumer's home,conditioner module 500 may be located at a restaurant or other foodservice establishment for use in preparing nutritional substances 520for consumers who patronize such an establishment. Additionally,conditioner module 500 could be located at a nutritional substanceseller such as a grocery store or health food store for preparation ofnutritional substances 520 purchased by consumers at such anestablishment. It could be foreseen that conditioner modules 500 couldbecome standalone businesses where consumers select nutritionalsubstances for preparation at the establishment or removal from theestablishment for consumption elsewhere.

Additionally, controller 530 uses nutritional substance informationprovided by nutritional substance database 550 from referenceinformation from nutritional substance reader 590 to dynamically modifythe operation of conditioner system 510 to maintain organoleptic andnutritional properties of nutritional substance 520. For example, if thenutritional substance 520 is a ready-to-eat dinner, controller 530 couldmodify the instructions to conditioner system 530 in response toinformation regarding the corn used in the ready-to-eat dinner such thata temperature and cooking duration can be modified to affect theorganoleptic, nutritional, taste, and/or appearance of the corn.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the label on nutritionalsubstance 520 could contain the conditioning instructions fornutritional substance 520, or a reference to such conditioninginstructions in nutritional substance database 550. In operation, thiswould allow nutritional substance ready 590 to obtain informationnutritional substance 520 on how controller 530 dynamically operationsconditioner system 510 to condition nutritional substance 520, withoutconsumer intervention. Additionally, conditioning instructions fornutritional substance 520 could be provided for a variety of differentconditions systems 510, or conditioners 570, and controller could selectthe proper conditioning instructions.

In a further embodiment of the present invention, nutritional substancereader 590 and/or conditioner system 510 measures or senses informationabout the current state of nutritional substance 520 and provides suchinformation to controller 530 to allow controller 530 to dynamicallymodify operation of conditioner system 510.

In an additional embodiment of the present invention, consumer 540provides information regarding their needs and/or desires with regard tothe nutritional substance 520 to consumer interface 560. Consumerinterface 560 provides this information to controller 530 so as to allowcontroller 530 to dynamically modify conditioner system 510 in theconditioning of nutritional substance 520. Consumer's 540 needs and/ordesires could include nutritional parameters, taste parameters,aesthetic parameters. For example, consumer 540 may have needs forcertain nutrients which are present in nutritional substance 520 priorto conditioning. Controller 530 could modify operation of conditionersystem 510 so as to preserve such nutrients. For example, conditionersystem 500 can cook the nutritional substance at a lower temperatureand/or for a shorter duration so as to minimize nutrient loss.

Consumer 540 aesthetic desires could include how rare or well done theyprefer a particular nutritional substance to be prepared. For example,consumer 540 may prefer his vegetables to be crisp or pasta to beprepared al dente. With such information provided by consumer 540 toconsumer interface 560, controller 530 can dynamically modify operationof conditioner system 510.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, controller 530receives information regarding the history of nutritional substance 520,current information on nutritional substance 520, and consumer 540 needsand/or desires, and dynamically modifies operation of conditioner system510. For example, if nutritional substance 520 is a steak, controller530 would receive reference information regarding the steak, nutritionalsubstance 520, from nutritional substance reader 590. Controller 530would use this reference information to obtain information about thesteak from nutritional substance database 550. Controller 530 could alsoreceive current information about the steak from nutritional substancereader 590 and/or conditioner 510. Additionally, controller 530 couldreceive consumer 540 preferences from consumer interface 560. Finally,controller 530 could receive information from conditioner system 510during the conditioning of the steak, nutritional substance 520. Usingsome or all of such information, controller 530 would dynamically modifythe cooking of the steak to preserve organoleptic, nutritional, andaesthetic properties to meet consumer 540 needs. For example, the steakcould be cooked slowly to preserve iron levels within the meat, and alsocooked to well-done to meet consumer's 540 taste.

Conditioner system 510 can prepare a nutritional substance for consumer540 which contains a plurality of nutritional substances 520.Conditioner module 500 includes recipe database 555 which is operablyconnected to controller 530. Recipe database 555 can be part ofnutritional substance database 550, or it can be a stand-alone database.While recipe database 555 can be located locally, it is preferablyaccessible to many conditioner modules 500 through a telecommunicationssystem such as the internet, including wireless telecommunicationssystems.

Controller 530 is also preferably connected to consumer database 580.Consumer database 580 may be additionally connected to consumerinterface 560. Consumer database 580 could include consumer's 540organoleptic and nutritional needs, and consumer 540 preferences.Consumer database 580 may receive input regarding consumer 540 fromconsumer 540, but could also include information supplied by consumer's540 medical records, exercise records for the consumer's gym, and otherinformation sources. Additionally, consumer database 580 could includeinformation regarding consumer's 540 preferences provided by controller530 for previous nutritional substance 520 conditionings. Finally,consumer database 580 could include consumer preferences from externalsources such as restaurants and grocery stores where consumer 540purchases nutritional substances 520. Finally, consumer database 580could include information from consumer module 600, in FIG. 1.

Consumer database 580 could be a local database maintained by controller530 and/or consumer interface 560. Preferably, consumer database 580 ispart of a nutritional substance industry database containing suchinformation regarding a plurality of consumers 540.

For example, controller 530 can operate conditioner system 510 to selectthe necessary ingredients, nutritional substance 520, to prepare a meal.In this case, nutritional substance 520 could be a plurality ofnutritional substances 520. In operation, consumer 540 could select adinner menu using consumer interface 560. Additionally, consumer 540could select a specific recipe from recipe database 555 or could selecta recipe source within database 555, such as low salt meals and/orrecipes by a certain well-known chef Controller 530 could prepare ashopping list for consumer 540 through consumer interface 560.Alternatively, controller 530 could transmit a shopping list to anutritional substance 520 such as a grocery store, so consumer 540 couldpick up such items already selected or could have such items delivered.

Alternatively, if instructed by consumer 540 to utilize nutritionalsubstances on hand, which have been logged into controller 530 throughnutritional substance reader 590, controller 530 could modify or suggesta recipe that used only nutritional substances 520 available toconditioner module 500. For example, if consumer 540 instructsconditioner module 500 through conditioner interface 560 that consumer540 would like Italian food in the style of a well-known Italian chef,controller 530 would utilize information in its various databases toprepare such a meal. In this case, controller 530 would match itsinventory of available nutritional substances with recipes from thewell-known Italian chef in recipe database 555 and find availablerecipes. Controller 530 could select a recipe that optimized consumer's540 needs and preferences and prepare a meal using conditioner system510. Alternatively, controller 530 could present various options toconsumer 540 using consumer interface 560, highlighting features of eachavailable meal from the standpoint of consumer's 540 nutritional needsand/or preferences.

In FIG. 6, nutritional substance database 550, recipe database 555, andconsumer database 580 are part of nutritional substance industrydatabase 558. Controller 530 would communicate with nutritionalsubstance industry database 558 through a communication system such asthe internet, and preferably a telecommunications system such aswireless telecommunications.

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout thedescription and the claims, the words “comprise,” “comprising,” and thelike are to be construed in an inclusive sense (i.e., to say, in thesense of “including, but not limited to”), as opposed to an exclusive orexhaustive sense. As used herein, the terms “connected,” “coupled,” orany variant thereof means any connection or coupling, either direct orindirect, between two or more elements. Such a coupling or connectionbetween the elements can be physical, logical, or a combination thereof.Additionally, the words “herein,” “above,” “below,” and words of similarimport, when used in this application, refer to this application as awhole and not to any particular portions of this application. Where thecontext permits, words in the above Detailed Description using thesingular or plural number may also include the plural or singular numberrespectively. The word “or,” in reference to a list of two or moreitems, covers all of the following interpretations of the word: any ofthe items in the list, all of the items in the list, and any combinationof the items in the list.

The above Detailed Description of examples of the invention is notintended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise formdisclosed above. While specific examples for the invention are describedabove for illustrative purposes, various equivalent modifications arepossible within the scope of the invention, as those skilled in therelevant art will recognize While processes or blocks are presented in agiven order in this application, alternative implementations may performroutines having steps performed in a different order, or employ systemshaving blocks in a different order. Some processes or blocks may bedeleted, moved, added, subdivided, combined, and/or modified to providealternative or sub-combinations. Also, while processes or blocks are attimes shown as being performed in series, these processes or blocks mayinstead be performed or implemented in parallel, or may be performed atdifferent times. Further any specific numbers noted herein are onlyexamples. It is understood that alternative implementations may employdiffering values or ranges.

The various illustrations and teachings provided herein can also beapplied to systems other than the system described above. The elementsand acts of the various examples described above can be combined toprovide further implementations of the invention.

Any patents and applications and other references noted above, includingany that may be listed in accompanying filing papers, are incorporatedherein by reference. Aspects of the invention can be modified, ifnecessary, to employ the systems, functions, and concepts included insuch references to provide further implementations of the invention.

These and other changes can be made to the invention in light of theabove Detailed Description. While the above description describescertain examples of the invention, and describes the best modecontemplated, no matter how detailed the above appears in text, theinvention can be practiced in many ways. Details of the system may varyconsiderably in its specific implementation, while still beingencompassed by the invention disclosed herein. As noted above,particular terminology used when describing certain features or aspectsof the invention should not be taken to imply that the terminology isbeing redefined herein to be restricted to any specific characteristics,features, or aspects of the invention with which that terminology isassociated. In general, the terms used in the following claims shouldnot be construed to limit the invention to the specific examplesdisclosed in the specification, unless the above Detailed Descriptionsection explicitly defines such terms. Accordingly, the actual scope ofthe invention encompasses not only the disclosed examples, but also allequivalent ways of practicing or implementing the invention under theclaims.

While certain aspects of the invention are presented below in certainclaim forms, the applicant contemplates the various aspects of theinvention in any number of claim forms. For example, while only oneaspect of the invention is recited as a means-plus-function claim under35 U.S.C. §112, sixth paragraph, other aspects may likewise be embodiedas a means-plus-function claim, or in other forms, such as beingembodied in a computer-readable medium. Any claims intended to betreated under 35 U.S.C. §112, ¶ 6 will begin with the words “means for.”Accordingly, the applicant reserves the right to add additional claimsafter filing the application to pursue such additional claim forms forother aspects of the invention.

1. A conditioning system for nutritional substances comprising:retriever for obtaining source information regarding a nutritionalsubstance to be conditioned; conditioner for conditioning thenutritional substance; and transmitter for transmitting the sourceinformation after conditioning.
 2. A conditioning system for nutritionalsubstances comprising: retriever for obtaining source informationregarding a nutritional substance to be conditioned; conditioner forconditioning the nutritional substance; sensor for obtainingconditioning information regarding the conditioning; and transmitter fortransmitting the source information and conditioning information afterconditioning.
 3. A conditioning system for nutritional substancescomprising: retriever for obtaining source information regarding anutritional substance to be conditioned; and conditioner for adaptivelyconditioning the nutritional substance according to the sourceinformation.
 4. A conditioning system for nutritional substancescomprising: retriever for obtaining source information regarding anutritional substance to be conditioned; conditioner for adaptivelyconditioning the nutritional substance according to the sourceinformation; and transmitter for transmitting the source informationafter conditioning.
 5. A conditioning system for nutritional substancescomprising: retriever for obtaining source information regarding anutritional substance to be conditioned; conditioner for adaptivelyconditioning the nutritional substance according to the sourceinformation; and transmitter for transmitting the source informationafter conditioning.
 6. A conditioning system for nutritional substancescomprising: retriever for obtaining source information regarding anutritional substance to be conditioned; conditioner for adaptivelyconditioning the nutritional substance according to the sourceinformation; sensor for obtaining conditioning information regarding theconditioning; and transmitter for transmitting the conditioninginformation and source information after conditioning.
 7. A conditioningsystem for nutritional substances comprising: retriever for obtainingsource information regarding a nutritional substance to be conditioned;detector for obtaining conditioning specifications; conditioner foradaptively conditioning the nutritional substance according to thesource information and the conditioning specifications; and transmitterfor transmitting the source information after conditioning.
 8. Aconditioning system for nutritional substances comprising: retriever forobtaining source information regarding a nutritional substance to beconditioned; detector for obtaining conditioning specifications;conditioner for adaptively conditioning the nutritional substanceaccording to the source information and the conditioning specifications;and transmitter for transmitting the source information afterconditioning.
 9. A conditioning system for nutritional substancescomprising: retriever for obtaining source information regarding anutritional substance to be conditioned; detector for obtainingconditioning specifications; conditioner for adaptively conditioning thenutritional substance according to the source information and theconditioning specifications; sensor for obtaining conditioninginformation regarding the conditioning; and transmitter for transmittingthe source information and conditioning information after conditioning.10. A conditioning system of claim 9 wherein said retriever comprises:identifier associated with a particular nutritional substance;information storage containing said source information referenced tosaid identifier; and locator for retrieving said source information forsaid particular nutritional substance from said information storage. 11.A conditioning system for nutritional substances according to claim 10wherein information storage comprises an electronic storage device orsystem.
 12. A conditioning system for nutritional substances accordingto claim 10 wherein information storage comprises a computer.
 13. Aconditioning system for nutritional substances according to claim 10wherein information storage comprises a computer database.
 14. Aconditioning system for nutritional substances according to claim 10wherein such an identifier is a human readable label.
 15. A conditioningsystem for nutritional substances according to claim 10 wherein such anidentifier is a computer readable label.
 16. A conditioning system fornutritional substances according to claim 10 wherein such an identifieris a computer readable label comprising a barcode label.
 17. Aconditioning system for nutritional substances according to claim 10wherein such an identifier is a computer readable label comprising a ORcode label.
 18. A conditioning system for nutritional substancesaccording to claim 10 wherein such an identifier is a computer readablelabel comprising a radio frequency label.
 19. A conditioning system fornutritional substances according to claim 10 wherein such an identifieris a computer readable label comprising an electronically readablelabel.
 20. A conditioning system for nutritional substances according toclaim 10 wherein such reader comprises an optical reader.
 21. Aconditioning system for nutritional substances according to claim 10wherein such reader comprises a radio frequency reader.
 22. Aconditioning system for nutritional substances according to claim 10wherein such reader comprises an electronic reader.
 23. A conditioningsystem for nutritional substances according to claim 10 wherein suchinformation locator comprises a computer.
 24. A conditioning system fornutritional substances according to claim 10 wherein such informationlocator comprises a database.
 25. A conditioning system for nutritionalsubstances according to claim 9 wherein said conditioner comprises afood processing system.
 26. A conditioning system for nutritionalsubstances according to claim 9 wherein said conditioner comprises anoven.
 27. A conditioning system for nutritional substances according toclaim 9 wherein said transformer comprises a microwave oven.
 28. Aconditioning system for nutritional substances according to claim 9wherein said transformer comprises a fryer.
 29. A conditioning systemfor nutritional substances according to claim 9 wherein said transformercomprises a steamer.
 30. A conditioning system for nutritionalsubstances according to claim 9 wherein said transformer comprises acomputer controlled food processing system.
 31. A conditioning system ofclaim 9, wherein said sensor comprises a chemical sensor.
 32. Aconditioning system of claim 9, wherein said sensor comprises abiological sensor.
 33. A conditioning system of claim 9, wherein saidsensor comprises a electronic sensor.
 34. A conditioning system of claim9, wherein said sensor comprises a mechanical sensor.
 35. A conditioningsystem of claim 9, wherein said sensor comprises a combination ofchemical, biological, electrical, and/or mechanical sensors.
 36. Aconditioning system for nutritional substances according to claim 9wherein the means for obtaining conditioning specifications comprises: aconsumer interface for receiving consumer specifications; and means fortransmitting consumer specifications to conditioning means.
 37. Aconditioning system for nutritional substances comprising: retriever forobtaining source information regarding a nutritional substance to beconditioned; and conditioner for adaptively conditioning the nutritionalsubstance according to the source information.
 38. A conditioning systemfor nutritional substances comprising: retriever for obtaining sourceinformation regarding a nutritional substance to be conditioned;conditioner for adaptively conditioning the nutritional substanceaccording to the source information; and transmitter for transmittingthe source information after conditioning.
 39. A conditioning system fornutritional substances comprising: retriever for obtaining sourceinformation regarding a nutritional substance to be conditioned;conditioner for adaptively conditioning the nutritional substanceaccording to the source information; and transmitter for transmittingthe source information after conditioning.
 40. A conditioning system fornutritional substances comprising: retriever for obtaining sourceinformation regarding a nutritional substance to be conditioned;conditioner for adaptively conditioning the nutritional substanceaccording to the source information; sensor for obtaining conditioninginformation regarding the conditioning; and transmitter for transmittingthe conditioning information and source information after conditioning.41. A conditioning system for nutritional substances comprising:retriever for obtaining source information regarding a nutritionalsubstance to be conditioned; means for obtaining conditioningspecifications; conditioner for adaptively conditioning the nutritionalsubstance according to the source information and the conditioningspecifications; and transmitter for transmitting the source informationafter conditioning.
 42. A conditioning system for nutritional substancescomprising: retriever for obtaining source information regarding anutritional substance to be conditioned; means for obtainingconditioning specifications; conditioner for adaptively conditioning thenutritional substance according to the source information and theconditioning specifications; and transmitter for transmitting the sourceinformation after conditioning.
 43. A conditioning system fornutritional substances comprising: retriever for obtaining sourceinformation regarding a nutritional substance to be conditioned; meansfor obtaining conditioning specifications; conditioner for adaptivelyconditioning the nutritional substance according to the sourceinformation and the conditioning specifications; means for obtainingconditioning information regarding the conditioning; and transmitter fortransmitting the source information and conditioning information afterconditioning.
 44. A conditioning system for nutritional substancesaccording to claim 7 wherein the means for obtaining conditioningspecifications comprises: a consumer interface for receiving consumerspecifications; and means for transmitting consumer specifications toconditioning means.
 45. A conditioning system for nutritional substancesaccording to claim 7 wherein the means for obtaining conditioningspecifications comprises: a consumer interface for receiving consumerspecifications; a recipe information storage information system; aselection means for obtaining recipe information in response to consumerinformation; and transmitter for transmitting recipe information toconditioning means.
 46. A conditioning system for nutritional substancesaccording to claim 7 wherein the means for obtaining conditioningspecifications comprises: a consumer interface for receiving consumerspecifications; a recipe information storage information system; aselection means for obtaining recipe information in response to consumerinformation; and transmitter for transmitting consumer specificationsand recipe information to conditioning means.
 47. A conditioning systemfor nutritional substances comprising: retriever for obtainingnutritional, organoleptic and/or aesthetic information regarding anutritional substance to be conditioned; detector for obtainingconditioning specifications; conditioner for adaptively conditioning thenutritional substance according to the nutritional, organoleptic and/oraesthetic information and the conditioning specifications; sensor forobtaining conditioning information regarding the conditioning; andtransmitter for transmitting the nutritional, organoleptic and/oraesthetic information and conditioning information after conditioning.48. A conditioning system of claim 47 wherein said retriever comprises:identifier associated with a particular nutritional substance;information storage containing said nutritional, organoleptic and/oraesthetic information referenced to said identifier; and locator forretrieving said nutritional, organoleptic and/or aesthetic informationfor said particular nutritional substance from said information storage.49. A conditioning system for nutritional substances according to claim48 wherein information storage comprises an electronic storage device orsystem.
 50. A conditioning system for nutritional substances accordingto claim 48 wherein information storage comprises a computer.
 51. Aconditioning system for nutritional substances according to claim 48wherein information storage comprises a computer database.
 52. Aconditioning system for nutritional substances according to claim 48wherein such an identifier is a human readable label.
 53. A conditioningsystem for nutritional substances according to claim 48 wherein such anidentifier is a computer readable label.
 54. A conditioning system fornutritional substances according to claim 48 wherein such an identifieris a computer readable label comprising a barcode label.
 55. Aconditioning system for nutritional substances according to claim 48wherein such an identifier is a computer readable label comprising a ORcode label.
 56. A conditioning system for nutritional substancesaccording to claim 48 wherein such an identifier is a computer readablelabel comprising a radio frequency label.
 57. A conditioning system fornutritional substances according to claim 48 wherein such an identifieris a computer readable label comprising an electronically readablelabel.
 58. A conditioning system for nutritional substances according toclaim 48 wherein such reader comprises an optical reader.
 59. Aconditioning system for nutritional substances according to claim 48wherein such reader comprises a radio frequency reader.
 60. Aconditioning system for nutritional substances according to claim 48wherein such reader comprises an electronic reader.
 61. A conditioningsystem for nutritional substances according to claim 48 wherein suchinformation locator comprises a computer.
 62. A conditioning system fornutritional substances according to claim 48 wherein such informationlocator comprises a database.
 63. A conditioning system for nutritionalsubstances according to claim 47 wherein said conditioner comprises afood processing system.
 64. A conditioning system for nutritionalsubstances according to claim 47 wherein said conditioner comprises anoven.
 65. A conditioning system for nutritional substances according toclaim 47 wherein said transformer comprises a microwave oven.
 66. Aconditioning system for nutritional substances according to claim 47wherein said transformer comprises a fryer.
 67. A conditioning systemfor nutritional substances according to claim 47 wherein saidtransformer comprises a steamer.
 68. A conditioning system fornutritional substances according to claim 47 wherein said transformercomprises a computer controlled food processing system.
 69. Aconditioning system of claim 47, wherein said sensor comprises achemical sensor.
 70. A conditioning system of claim 47, wherein saidsensor comprises a biological sensor.
 71. A conditioning system of claim47, wherein said sensor comprises a electronic sensor.
 72. Aconditioning system of claim 47, wherein said sensor comprises amechanical sensor.
 73. A conditioning system of claim 47, wherein saidsensor comprises a combination of chemical, biological, electrical,and/or mechanical sensors.
 74. A conditioning system for nutritionalsubstances according to claim 47 wherein the locator for obtainingconditioning specifications comprises: a consumer interface forreceiving consumer specifications; and transmitting for transmittingconsumer specifications to conditioning means.
 75. A method ofdynamically conditioning a nutritional substance comprising the stepsof: obtaining source information regarding the nutritional substance;obtaining conditioning instructions for the nutritional substance;modifying the conditioning instructions using the source information.76. A method of dynamically conditioning a nutritional substance ofclaim 75 wherein the conditioning instructions are modified so as topreserve nutritional, organoleptic and/or aesthetic value of thenutritional substance.
 77. A method of generating nutritionalinformation for a conditioned nutritional substance comprising the stepsof: obtaining source information regarding the nutritional substance;obtaining conditioning information for the nutritional substance;calculating any change in nutritional information using the sourceinformation and the conditioning information.
 78. A method of generatingnutritional information of claim 77 wherein calculating the changeincludes calculating any change nutritional, organoleptic and/oraesthetic value of the nutritional substance.
 79. A method of estimatinga change in a selected nutritional, organoleptic, or aesthetic value ofa nutritional substance following conditioning comprising the steps of:retrieving at least two of a source information, dynamically generatedinformation, and currently observed information regarding a selectednutritional value of a nutritional substance to be conditioned; andobtaining a conditioning specification for conditioning the nutritionalsubstance; and calculating a value associated with the change in theselected nutritional value using at least two of said sourceinformation, said dynamically generated information, said currentlyobserved information, and said conditioning specification.
 80. A methodof estimating a change in a selected nutritional, organoleptic, oraesthetic value of a nutritional substance following conditioningaccording to claim 79 further comprising the steps of: providinginformation regarding the calculated value for local or remote review.